Assessing the Quality of Family Child Care: A Comparison of Five Instruments.

Modigliani, Kathy; Dunleavey, M. P.

This study compared five popular instruments for assessing the quality of family child care: the Child Development Associate Competency Standards (CDA); the National Association for Family Day Care Assessment Profile (NAFDC); the Child Care Partnership of Dallas Family Day Care Home Observation Instrument; the Louise Child Care Scale for Evaluating Home Based Day Care; and the Harms-Clifford Family Day Care Rating Scale (FDCRS). The five instruments are compared in the following content areas: personal and social development and provider interaction; cognitive development; language development; creative development; physical development (small and large muscle); health; safety; nutrition; family support and interaction; and professionalism. Pros and cons are discussed for each instrument, and recommendations are made for accreditation, training, and public policy. (MM)